Martyrs against tyranny

lessons from English saints

Julius Caesar, Shakespeare’s allegorical tale of the fall of the Church in England is masterful in the way he hides his true meaning in plain sight. Obedient to his cousin’s encouragement that “in fables are masked moral truths that if they were not disguised would not find so free a passage,” Shakespeare found his way to get the truth to the English masses denied the Catholic mass. They may be denied the Catholic mass in public, they may be denied the right to print Catholic books for distribution, but they would not be denied the genius of this Catholic poet and playwright.

Conspiracy

And one of the key issues of the fall of the Church was the role of the English Catholic hierarchy, especially English bishops and priests. A complicated situation that proved learning lessons for Catholics in all times and places, a complicated subject that Shakespeare tackles through his character of Mark Antony.

As discussed a couple weeks back, in using a person to represent a people, Shakespeare is doing something common to scriptural interpretations of heroes of faith, in the model of what Jesus and Saint Paul themselves did in teaching truths about Catholic religious teachings and doctrines.

Mark Antony, as a historical figure also is practical to represent the English priests and bishops as he was the priest of the cult of Caesar. In recognition of this fact, Shakespeare is then able to use this person to represent a people - English church leaders. Once we grasp this, seeing Mark Antony’s behaviors help us confirm the truths of English history that we have handed down to us through Church celebrations of feasts, saints, and martyrs.

Witnesses

This past week we celebrated on Wednesday the memorials of Saint John Fisher and Saint Thomas More, two English saints, martyrs, and heroes of the many we have from that time. And why are they so important? Because of their response to King Henry’s tyrannical dictates.

Saint John Fisher was the only bishop - the only one! - of the very many who did not take Henry’s Oath of Supremacy in 1534. He had the king’s wrath because he defended the indissolubility of marriage, and thus was an important supporter of the Queen, Queen Catherine of Aragon. As others have said, he was like Saint John the Baptist, willing to lay down his life for preaching truths about the sanctity of marriage.

His passage into eternity would come with the Oath of Supremacy. Because he would not take an Oath stating that the King of England was Supreme Head of the Church in England, he was killed. In not taking the Oath, he was again protecting a king’s bride, this time the bride of the King of the Jews. His witness to this truth led to his martyrdom.

(Likewise, Saint Thomas More, who was also martyred for testifying to this same truth about the true head of the Church in England).

What’s important about Saint John Fisher is that he was the only bishop who did not surrender the Church of England to the King of England. All the others did! As a friend told me, the Church has always dealt with faithlessness from its members and leaders, even our savior’s passion was brought about because one bishop valued the Savior’s life at 30 pieces of silver. And on that same night, 10 other bishops were scattered like sheep without a shepherd as they fled to save their lives. Only one bishop of the twelve was found at the foot of the cross, Saint John the beloved, the one close to Mother Mary, there’s another moral there but time fails us now to explore that beautiful point. Returning to our main theme, the surrender of the Catholic hierarchy in England in 1532, known as the “submission of the clergy,” is a complicated part of England and Church history. But it’s not necessarily uncommon.

Church Chronicles

It is a complicated part of the story for Shakespeare to chronicle and teach. And he addresses many of the complications of this situation through the character of Mark Antony.

In Julius Caesar, we are introduced to Antony in the second scene, after the setup of the totalitarian state of scene 1, and after the warning to Caesar to “beware of the ides of March” as well as the conversation between the chief conspirators, Cassius and Brutus. Caesar warns Antony that such men as Cassius are dangerous. Quickly they leave the scene and then we are told about Antony’s actions. We hear Antony offered Caesar the crown three times, and every time Caesar refused it, each time gentler than the other. But it is an important detail for the play, “Caesar refused the crown.”

Caesar did not take unto himself more power than what was his, despite the claims and fears of the conspirators.

Act 1 ends with the conspirators convinced of the need to win “noble Brutus to our party” for the success of their insurrection against Caesar as “he sits high in all the people’s hearts” knowing “that which would appear offense in us, his countenance, like richest alchemy, will change to virtue and to worthiness.”

In other words, those who seek the downfall of the Church, need to win over the King (Henry the VIII) in order to be successful, as he’s proclaimed a “defender of the faith,” naturally they could twist that title to their own purposes.

Once they win over the Brutus (the allegorical representation of Henry VIII), they talk about Mark Antony’s role in Act 2, Scene 1.

It’s worth quoting this passage at length,

Decius Brutus Shall no man else be touched but only Caesar?

Cassius Decius, well urged. I think it is not meet
Mark Antony, so well beloved of Caesar,
Should outlive Caesar. We shall find of him
A shred contriver. And you know his means,
If he improve them, may well stretch so far
As to annoy us all. Which to prevent,
Let Antony and Caesar fall together.

Brutus Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius,
To cut the head off and then hack the limbs,
Like wrath in death and envy afterwards.
For Antony is but a limb of Caesar.
Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.
We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar,
And in the spirit of men there is no blood.
O that we then could come by Caesar’s spirit
And not dismember Caesar! But alas
Caesar must bleed for it. And gentle friends,
Let’s kill him boldly, but not wrathfully.
Let’s carve him as a dish fit for the gods,
Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds.
And let our hearts, as subtle masters do,
Stir up their servants to an act of rage
And after seem to chide ‘em. This shall make
Our purpose necessary and not envious.
Which so appearing to the common eyes,
We shall be called purgers, not murderers.
And for Mark Antony, think not of him.
For he can do no more than Caesar’s arm
When Caesar's head is off.

Cassius Yet I fear him,
For in the engrafted love he bears to Caesar -

Brutus Alas, good Cassius, do not think of him.
If he love Caesar, all that he can do
Is to himself, take thought and die for Caesar,
And that were much he should…

So many important details to note and see, including how they realized the need to put up appearances for “common eyes.” The conspirators of the downfall of the Church in England need to be seen as those purging evils, not as murderers and butchers seeking after their own purposes. To keep the appearances, they need use Antony, not kill him off. What they need to do is chop at the head (the Pope), not the body (the Church). And so, as much as possible, they hone in on Caesar and not others. That is the message and purpose they seek after, remove the head of the Church but not the body.

And in the end, those who truly love Church will have nothing left but to take thought and die for the Church.

More than Conquerors

And this is why Saint John Fisher is such a powerful example for us today. He, the lone bishop at the time who saw through the lies and conspiracies of the Crown, nobles, and churchmen, was willing to testify unto death for the basic truths of the Catholic religion, and became a hero and saint for those of us who at times struggle with how could the Church seem to align itself with worldly powers today. We have examples from our own Church history of other moments, similar in principles, that we can draw on and lean on and learn from.

And those of us who learn to hear Shakespeare, we see how he puts the arguments on the lips of characters so we not only learn our history but also become wise to the propaganda and lies of those who would use power not to serve others but for their own purposes.

We’ll spend the rest of the summer walking slowly through Julius Caesar, as the learning lessons apply so clearly for us today. But for today, we are able to see through Shakespeare and our liturgical calendar, two powerful lessons of Catholic integrity in a world that seems lost.

To quote my countrymen, “in the end, God wins.”

And to quote Saint Paul,

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who is against us?

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies; who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,

‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And so, let us hear Shakespeare, and in doing so, experience the overwhelming love of Jesus for his bride.